2017 has been full of a ton of fantastic games, and narrowing that list of some of the best has been incredibly difficult for me this year. With excellence pouring out from every console and PC this year there was a lot of ground to cover. This list is the five that I’ve narrowed down in terms of what really hooked me and left an impact personally.
5. Sonic Mania
At number five, and I can’t believe I’m writing this, but Sonic Mania. The first game about Sonic that’s actually been worth paying any attention to since the Gamecube. Sonic Mania pairs the perfect elements of the original Sega Genesis games with a refreshing mix of new levels, atmosphere, and fantastic music. Anybody who holds even the slightest bit of nostalgia for the little blue hedgehog owes it to themselves to check this game out immediately.
4. Heat Signature
Number four is Heat Signature, a fantastic indie title from the studio Suspicious Developments. This game is like the sci-fi lovechild of games like Hotline Miami and Faster Than Light. A fantastic rougelike that involves piloting pods into larger spaceships and completing a whole array of tasks from assassinations to hijacking a whole ship and smashing it into a space station. The endless amounts of ways to complete missions and challenge yourself keeps every single thing you do interesting and consequences of actions taken on each mission could lead to riches or misery.
3. PLAYERUNKNOWN’s Battlegrounds
Number three for me would have to be PLAYERUNKNOWN’s Battlegrounds. Even though the game does lack some polish and can get buggy from time to time, the payoff of the tense battle royale format does such a great job of keeping things thrilling right up to those final moments of winning or being cut down on your way to the top. Battlegrounds has to be one of the best online multiplayer experiences I’ve had since first playing Battlefield 2 on my first gaming computer.
2. Super Mario Odyssey
Coming in at number two is Super Mario Odyssey. The Switch launch this year had some incredible new games from Nintendo and I’m really loving everything the system has had to offer so far. Mario has to take my top spot of games from the new system though, since it just pulls of some fantastic platforming mechanics. So loaded to the brim with a plethora of little things to keep you digging and exploring the gorgeously crafted worlds never ceases to stop pulling me in time after time.
1. Night in the Woods
With everything offered up this year my number one would have to be Night in the Woods. This game I had heard little about before playing and when I did play it for IndieComplete I was absolutely blown away by this game. Night in the Woods is charming, smart, funny, captivating, and truly moving. It was incredible how well the story is told and relating to these characters came so easy and naturally. Night in the Woods truly shows how games can provide such a great medium for storytelling in ways no movie or book could replicate.
